Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1887-04-02

Mise Beckwith ChAts about Her Graceful Ar
Her Champion Bsother.
From tho Naw YOrk ann

Mise Beckwith ChAts about Her Graceful Ar.
Her Champion Brother.
From the New York Sun.
A thrill Of unusual interest stirs the i'm.
mense assemblages that crowd TO Madison
Square Garden to zee the giant combined cir.
Gus show OF Bsrnum and ForepauRh when
Agnes Beckwith trips out upon the elevated
stage, aud, bowling gracefully before the
1000 pairs of ey es that are fastened ON her
admiringly, takes . dsahing header into the
huge water tank provided for her purposes
The picturesque aquatic expert 70 the sister
OF William Henry Beckwith, the champion
swimmer Of the world. She 10 . comely,
blue-eyed English girl of four-and.twenty
summers, and no performer In the whole
circus presents q more striking picture than
she just the instant before she makes her
smiling face disappear from view In her
thrilling dive. flowing robe Of old gold
plush 10 wrapped about her from her throat
TO her feet ss she steps out upon the platform.
She tosses of the pair Of rubber overshoes
fnging aside the robe, quickly trips to the
/ edge OF the tank, with her limbs encased in
/ fesh -colored tights and . dsrk-hued jersey
| drawn snugly about her waist Her soft
shoulders. In she goes, and when she comes
up her hair Is as straight - an Indiana
She dives and waltzee, floates like . swan,
turns somersaults, swims under water freely,
0uO uuhlly caps Tue CllIuax Dy pIOp0lllDR
herself along with graceful undulstions Of the
body while her hands and feet are bound fast
together. Meanwhile her brother, dressed
In white tights and blue jersey, behaves
. II he had lived In the water all the days Of
his life.
Chow did you learn to swim 90 ?" Sun
reporter asked Miss Beck with, as she stood
toy ing with her pretty plush robe and wait
Ing for the moment when she should amaze
the circus ay ner sudden header into the
awimmieC tank
tOh, inherit the art" she said, q she
tossed her golden hair about her shoulders.
4" am the daughter OF . swimming teacher,
| you kuow-Prot Frederick Beckwith-and ]
1 was only four years old. That was In tn.
Lambeth baths in London. ! got 80 that
could almost live in the water, aud when
was little girl Of y year. swan my ti,s
i Thames, from London to Greenwich.
/ was q journey Of five miles, and all alonl
the banks people were gathered to watch me
1t was quite novelty, you see, for littl
| swan again in the Thames, this time to-
/ miles, from Winchester to Greenwich, an
| the crowd was even greater. But the gresl
! l eat trip / ever made was the swim froI
/ Westminster. That's q distance OF twent
. mileA A big steamboat went along with me
There were lot OF professional singers O.
board who sang glees and other song,
Every once In while, to show them that
enjoyed the sport and that was In joli
. | good spirits, l swan up close to the steame
, | and joined in the choruses. 1t was splendi
. | fun.
"Your brother says that you could live i
the water II you wanted to-"
"Well, i can and did do So" the prett
swimmer said with some spirit 1t was g
the Royal Aquarium In London. The publ
| we're good enough to get Interested In N
after those long swims on the Thames, and
uao av1U IN in, faof nj
| First l remained in the water continuously
tor thirty hours, then for sixty hours, anl
finally for one hundred hours 10 Q week.
ate all my meals In the great tank during thu
/ time. That was Lying in the water, WASH
it?
There Is only one woman in sll England
that spends as much OF her LIE In the waite
| as the handsome mermaid Of Baruum's show
| Tha, woman is Miss Saigemap, but Mis-
, Beckwith proved her superior ability a.
swimmer by defeating Miss Saigemsn Il
| three straight races at Birmingham, Lam
\ beth baths, aud Hastings, winning the ladies
swimming cham pionship Of England. Fou
! years ago she made her nrst dip into Amer
can waters in q swim with her brother froI
!. Sandy Hook 10 the big pier at Rockswsy.
Miss Beckwith's brother learned TO swim
, when he was only years Old, too, and now
I at the age OF thirty years, he holds the swim
the American championship at Boston fror
Riley. 81 stand ready at any time," he said
"tO swim any American who wants to ge
/ that belt back"
Champion Beckwith has peculiar Euglis
| style of overland stroke that sends him q
swiftly through the water that he won tn
nickname In England OF " The Little Aquati
Steam Engine" He In credited with ssyin
| fifty lives. Once q bather at the Lambet
Baths was seized with . cramp and W.
drowning when Beckwith, who was the
: only lad, plunged in and saved him. tn
man dressed aud walked away some dlstanC
! from the bath without saying word to Il
D boy.
I "See here" called out Beckwith's fsthe
"sin't you going to thank this boy ?"
"Oh, yes, l almost forgot" the re scue
Lat the lille fellow est a p,sss of hesr
Beckwith 10 willing to bet heap that the
isn't q swimmer IN the world that hs
| another adventure like that